Business

At the event, The Oil & Gas Year held an awards ceremony to recognise the most outstanding companies and individuals operating in Oman’s oil and gas sector over the last year. Photo – TALIB AL WOHAIBI/Times of Oman

Muscat: 'The Oil & Gas Year Oman' 2014 energy report was launched at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel in Muscat yesterday. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas and Irshad Al Lawati, chief executive officer of OPAL spoke at the event, which also included an awards ceremony.

This fourth edition of 'The Oil & Gas Year' series in Oman presents an in-depth look at the country's success in the field of enhanced oil recovery, steps taken to monitor and improve the in-country value performance of companies in Oman and the development of the Khazzan field, one of the Middle East's largest tight gas accumulations.

The book examines the government's promotion of innovative oil and gas extraction techniques in 2014 and beyond, and highlights the nation's drive to enhance the professional development of Omani nationals in all sectors of the economy. The 'Oil & Gas Year Oman 2014' was published by Wildcat International and produced in partnership with the Ministry of Oil and Gas and OPAL.

At the event, The Oil & Gas Year held an awards ceremony to recognise the most outstanding companies and individuals operating in Oman's oil and gas sector over the last year. Six awards were presented. The prestigious Man of the Year award brought attention to the work of Harib Al Kitani, chief executive officer of Oman LNG. In 2013, Kitani oversaw the successful merger of Oman LNG and Qalhat LNG.

Petroleum Development Oman was awarded Investment Decision of the Year for its Rabab Harweel integrated project, which is expected to yield in excess of 5 mcm (177mcf) of natural gas per day in 2019.

For its role in outlining Oman's in-country value blueprint strategy in December 2013, OPAL was awarded Development of the Year. BP was given the Upstream Deal of the Year award for the Khazzan tight gas project, which is expected to supply one-third of the country's natural gas consumption by 2018.

The Joint Venture of the Year award was presented to Special Technical Services and Tebodin & Partners, which was jointly the largest private sector oilfield employer of Omani nationals in 2013. Finally, Masirah Oil was presented with the Offshore Discovery of the Year award for discovering hydrocarbons in its second offshore exploration well in Block 50 in February 2014.

The 'Oil & Gas Year' is the flagship title of Wildcat International, a publisher of business intelligence resources. The Oil & Gas Year is a series of annual executive reports on more than 30 territories that are critical business tools for energy investors, highlighting and promoting key actors and opportunities. Global circulation to a readership of 69,000 readers in 101 countries is audited by BPA Worldwide.